Filed Under: President's Post

By any measure, together we’ve achieved a tremendous level of success in the last year. We can, and should, take great pride in our achievements. At the same time, we understand the dynamic nature of higher education. To be relevant, our strategic plans and our goals must change with the times. To remain on the cutting edge, we must do even more. We must project ahead. We must think boldly and act boldly. We must be our own architects for the future. Our original Quest for Student Success, implemented in 2013, set ambitious goals that led to significant improvements in student retention and graduation rates over the past five years. These achievements have set the stage for us to bolster our Quest for years to come and further define our Academic Master Plan.

Over the past two years, I convened several members of our faculty and staff, under the leadership of Provost Mark Byrnes, to expand, refine, and strengthen our efforts to facilitate the success of students. An important product of this initiative was the creation of the Quest for Student Success 2025, a crucial document that will serve as MTSU’s guidebook for future student success initiatives. Quest 2025 focuses on student success marked by a deeper and broader academic and student life experience that extends learning beyond graduation. Quest 2025 deepens our commitment to develop lifelong learners by engaging students in the learning process, creating distinctive and effective student experiences, enabling students to build self-confidence, and preparing them for successes in their careers and civic lives.

Students will learn:

• how to learn
• how to ask the right questions
• how to take risks and learn from their mistakes
• how to succeed personally and professionally

Here are a few key components of our updated Quest plan. The ultimate goal is to graduate students who are:

• prepared to thrive professionally
• committed to lifelong learning
• actively engaged as citizens of their communities and the world

The committee has developed three areas of focus:

1. Enhance the quality of the academic experience by helping faculty engage with students.
2. Enhance the quality of the student-life experience.
3. Build an academic and student support network that facilitates learning.

The plan will include specific measurable metrics.

As a beginning point to operationalize Quest 2025, Provost Byrnes has convened the Implementation Work Group, led by Rick Sluder, vice provost for student success. Look for more information in the near future, but the workgroup is focused on identifying a handful of primary strategic initiatives. For more information on Quest 2025, please visit the provost’s website at mtsu.edu/provost.

In summary, the new Quest for Student Success 2025 underscores the University’s core mission: to produce graduates who are prepared to thrive professionally, are committed to critical inquiry and lifelong learning, and are engaged as civically, globally responsible citizens.